Briar Patch
]] The Briar Patch, known to Klingons as Klach D'kel Brakt, was a region in Sector 441, in the Beta Quadrant. The colloquial "Briar Patch" name used in the Federation was first coined by criminal geneticist Arik Soong in the 22nd century, a reference to an Earth story involving Br'er Rabbit. Astrography and navigation The area known as the Briar Patch contained the stars SNC 461206 and UFC 8177. In the surrounding area, SNR 093120, UFC 9364, NGC 2812, and QSR 390021 were all visible on star charts of sector 441. This region was known for containing dangerous space matter, including supernova remnants, false vacuum fluctuations, metaphasic radiation, and at least two habitable planets, one of which was settled by the Ba'ku. Ships in the vicinity had to travel at less than one-third impulse power to avoid overheating the vessel's impulse manifolds. According to Admiral Dougherty, ships entering the region preferably were specially fitted for it. ( ) History 22nd century In May of 2154, Soong suggested the cloud as a hiding place for himself and a group of Augments aboard a stolen , but his suggestion was rejected by Malik, the self-appointed leader of the Augments. ( ) 23rd century In 2256, the region's location was labeled on a tactical map on the bridge of the . ( ) Later that year, this region's location was labeled on the star chart "Alpha/Beta Quadrant Overview" in the ready room aboard the Discovery. ( ) In 2257, Klingons occupied the star Ba'ku's system. ( ) In 2271, the region was the site of the celebrated Battle of Klach D'kel Brakt, during which Dahar Master Kor led the Klingon Empire in a glorious victory over the Romulan Star Empire. Nearly a century later, Kor was still fond of re-playing the battle in holosuites. ( ) 24th century on the edge of a metreon gas explosion in the Briar Patch]] By the 24th century, the region was part of Federation space. The anomalies pervading the region had not been fully identified when in 2375 a joint Starfleet-Son'a mission was mounted to study the Ba'ku planet. During that mission, the Briar Patch was the scene of the Battle of the Briar Patch between the Federation starship and Son'a ships, following the discovery of a plot to relocate the Ba'ku. ( ) Appendices Background information The names of the Briar Patch's stellar contents and neighbors originate from a computer-displayed okudagram which Geoffrey Mandel created for . While not clearly seen on-screen, the graphic was reproduced in The Secrets of Star Trek: Insurrection (p. 143) by Terry J. Erdmann. According to the , the Briar Patch was "whimsically named for the tangled hardwood shrub that featured prominently in the '' stories by , published in 1880 and 1883." In the script of ''Star Trek: Insurrection, the Briar Patch was described as a "dangerous and beautiful region." For Insurrection, the appearance of the Briar Patch was developed by Mark Wendell, CGI supervisor at Santa Barbara Studios, and Art Director Richard Kriegler. "Our goal was to make this area of space look like a big nasty rat's nest, filled with gases and clouds and so forth," Wendell explained. (The Secrets of Star Trek: Insurrection, p. 26) When Star Trek: Star Charts was published in , the relationship between the Briar Patch and Klach D'kel Brakt had not yet been established in canon. ( , which established the connection, wasn't aired until .) Star Charts (p. 63) depicted Klach D'kel Brakt as a star system in the Beta Quadrant. The more recent "Stellar Cartography" ("Stellar Cartography" p. 17) briefly mentioned that the Briar Patch and Klach D'kel Brakt were names, Federation and Klingon, respectively, for the same supernova remnant. There was no depiction of the Klach D'kel Brakt system on any of the charts. The chart in the episode labels the Klingon name "Klach D'kel Brakt" as a location distinct from the Briar Patch, suggesting that the two aren't always synonymous. Apocrypha In the miniseries Star Trek: Prey, Worf is briefly captured by the descendants of the discommendated followers of Kruge, known as the Unsung, as they see him as a powerful symbol due to his own history of suffering discommendation and then regaining his honor, taking him to a planet in the Briar Patch. Worf is able to use his own experience of the location to alert his allies to the area to search during a later broadcast by the Unsung, stealing the armor of one of their number and fixing the ace of clubs from a stolen deck of cards to his weapon as he appears in a broadcast to the rest of the quadrant, recalling a unique stellar formation in the Briar Patch that Riker compared to that card and hoping that one of his crew will see it and realize the clue. External link * cs:Vřesoviště de:Briar Patch fr:Briar Patch ja:ブライアー・パッチ nl:Briar patch Category:Nicknames Category:Regions